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“Siam's Borān Buddhism” from the Reign of Rāmā I (1782-1809 CE.)

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“Siam's Borān Buddhism” from the Reign of Rāmā I (1782-1809 CE.) The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā: A Trace of “Siam's Borān Buddhism” from the Reign of Rāmā I (1782-1809 CE.) Woramat Malasart A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts Of the University of Otago, Dunedin New Zealand June 4, 2019 Abstract The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Texts belonging to this genre share the same core Pāli verses, and date back to the Ayutthaya period. In this thesis, I transliterate, translate, contextualise and analyse the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, “Words on the Recollec- tion of the Body of Dhammas,” which was part of the Suat Mon Plae, a collection of Bud- dhist chanting rituals compiled during the 1st reign (1782-1809), using a historical-critical approach to the text. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā consists of verses composed in Pāli fol- lowed by the Thai translation, using a traditional method called yok sab. The first three parts of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā share the core Pāli verses of the Dhammakāya text genre, but the final section, which praises the Buddha‟s physical body, is different. The Pāli vers- es describe the Buddha‟s auspicious marks including radiance, hair, height, etc., verses that are also found in the Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya, a text that can be dated to the 1st reign. Today, the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā is not well-known in Central Thailand, but its similar texts are still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka and the ritual of installing the Buddha‟s heart into a Buddha statute and chedī. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā along with other texts belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre disappeared during the 5th reign (1868-1910), when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880, and Siam‟s Tipiṭaka was revised during the 10th Saṇgāyanā in 1893. I conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussati- kathā is evidence for the suppression of Siam‟s “Borān” Buddhism during the 5th reign in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity. Keywords: Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, Buddhābhiṣeka, Borān Kammaṭṭhāna, Rāmā I i Acknowledgement „Life‟ is all about learning and experiencing new things. The years (2018-2019) that I spent researching and writing this thesis have been the most enjoyable years of my academic life. My research has offered me opportunities to learn and experience a model of existence which I call „Living like a Scholar‟. Even though at times the route to complete this thesis was rough and unclear the support, kindness and empowerment that I got from my mentors, fami- ly and friends encouraged me to find ways to solve all the problems facing me. First of all, I deeply appreciate the scholarships I received from the University of Otago Mas- ters by Coursework (2018) and the Dhammachai International Research Institute of Australia and New Zealand (DIRI). As an international student studying at Otago the fees, in terms of living expenses and tuition, were costly. Without the funding support offered by both institu- tions I would not be able to study here at Otago and do my research in Thailand. Not only did the DIRI provide me with funding support, but the institute also contributed the digitised manuscript of the Old Manual for Installing the Buddha’s Heart into a Buddha Image and a Stūpa. I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Dr. Elizabeth Guthrie, whose knowledge made learning a thrill. Elizabeth offered me a rough translation of the Dhammakāya text, a chapter in Bizot‟s book Le chemin de Lanka. Without her comments, editing and translation this thesis would not have been completed. I am graceful to Assoc. Prof. Will Sweetman, who carefully looked over my thesis contents, and provided critical thoughts on every chapter. My transliteration and translation were guided by Dr. Trent Walk- er, Dr. Kitchai Urkasame, Dr. Chanida Jantrasrisalai, and Prof. Claudio Cicuzza. They all read through my translation draft, and gave useful suggestions for the critical study of the text. Trent always responded to my questions. Kitchai provided his thesis, as well as relevant works, which were really useful to my study. Chanida corrected my translation, with a focus to the parallel between Pāli and English. She also provided helpful critiques on the concept of the Buddha‟s body. I am grateful to Phra Sudhammayanvites, who kindly provided me man- uscripts for this thesis. I would like to thank Phramaha Ariya Ariyachayo whom I consulted about the Pāli translations. I thank my friends, James McCulloch, Michael Inglis and Dr. Ro- hana Ariffin, for their assistance on English grammar. There are many other colleagues of mine, who provided words of motivation and useful critiques, but I cannot include them all here. ii I am grateful to the National Library of Thailand, where I did my fieldwork, which consisted mainly in exploring manuscripts. From there, I got many more supportive suggestions than I expected. I would like to express my profound thanks to the Foundation of King Rāmā II, from which I got multiple doctrinal records, including manuscripts and rare printed books. My grandparents, Sommay and Sawat Sanboran, and my parents, Tongchai and Ratree Malasart, were my first teachers. Their infinite kindness and encouragement made my mind a stone, which allowed me to endure whatever I had to face and experience. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my grandfather, Sommay Sanboran who died last year. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... 1 List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter I: Introduction and Literature Review .......................................................................... 4 1.2 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 The Dhammakāya Text Genre and Its Analysis .............................................................. 9 1.4.1 Editions, Transliterations, and Translations of the Dhammakāya Text Genre ......... 9 1.4.2 The Dhammakāya Text Genre in the Ritual Context.............................................. 12 1.4.3 Textual Analysis of the Dhammakāya Text Genre ................................................. 13 1.4.4 Table A: The Index of the Dhammakāya Text Genre in Different Times and Locations .......................................................................................................................... 15 1.4.5 Why the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā? .................................................................... 16 Chapter II: A History of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā ........................................................ 17 2.1 The Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya (1794-1801) (GBD) ................................ 18 2.2 Braḥ Dhammakāyādi (1st and 3rd reigns) (BD) .............................................................. 18 2.3 The Suttajātakanidānānisaṃsa (1817 and 1824) (SJNA) ............................................. 20 2.4 Rāmā II‟s Sangayana Bot Suat Mon (1821 CE) ............................................................ 21 2.5 Was DK 1909 composed during the 1st or 2nd reign? .................................................... 22 2.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter III: Transliteration and Translation ............................................................................ 25 3.1 Diplomatic Translation of DK 1909 .............................................................................. 25 3.2 Analysis of DK 1909 ..................................................................................................... 27 Chapter IV: A Textual and Contextual Analysis of DK 1909 ................................................. 31 4.1 The Dhammakāya Text Genre and Its Ritual Usage in Khmer and Northern Thailand 31 4.1.1 Buddhābhiṣeka ........................................................................................................ 32 4.1.2 Individual Recitation for Living Prosperity and Meditation Progresses ................ 35 4.2 Contextual Analysis of DK 1909 ................................................................................... 36 4.2.1 DK 1909 as a Performative Text ............................................................................ 37 4.2.2 DK 1909 as a Meditation Text ................................................................................ 37 4.2.3 DK 1909 as a Commentarial Text .......................................................................... 39 4.3. The Disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā ................................................. 41 Chapter V: Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 46 1 Appendix .................................................................................................................................
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